


Curse of the Dragon

by Varewulf



Category: Fate Extella, Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Genre: AU, AU Liz, Crossover, Gen, what if
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-20 06:48:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12427200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Varewulf/pseuds/Varewulf
Summary: After young Elizabeth discovers a strange red stone, her life is set to change forever.Had an idea that went "what if Elizabeth from Fate/ was in the world of Symphogear?"Set after the original series, but before G.





	1. Prologue: An Idol is Born

**Author's Note:**

> This idea popped up while I was playing the Halloween Event in Fate GO. Elizabeth had a line that went something like "my songs will save the world", which of course resonated a lot with all the Symphogear watching I've been doing. So after stewing on that thought for a while, I figured I might as well have a go at writing it.

Young Elizabeth, age 7, was an energetic child. She didn't like sitting still for very long, usually running off to play with the other children whenever she could get away with it. And sometimes when she couldn't. Her parents had a handful with her, but she was such a cheerful, guileless child that it was hard to stay angry at her for very long. The main issue was that she had trouble recognising that she ever did anything wrong, but aren't most children that way?

When out with her friends she had a tendency to try to take charge of whatever they were doing. They never really listened to her, though. Perhaps they had learned better, as Elizabeth's enthusiasm outstretched her common sense. So not only would she get herself in trouble, but them as well.

One of their regular playgrounds was near the abandoned castle on the outskirts of town. Though they rarely went beyond the dried-out moat, as there was something about the castle that made them want to stay out of it. Even if they couldn't put words as to why they felt that so strongly. Not even Elizabeth's eagerness to play and explore could overcome the sense of unease she got if she got too close to the castle entrance. But they were quite familiar with the stretch of moat going around the castle.

Going all the way around was a bit of a pain, but they had all done at least one lap to see what it was like. No fantastic discoveries were ever made though. It was just a large, dirt-covered, moss-grown ditch stretching around a dilapidated castle. The kind of place only kids would think was fun to climb in and out of.

Except one day... Elizabeth was together with a group of other children, when something made her slow down and fall behind. The other kids didn't seem to notice, or if they did, they probably figured she would catch up soon enough. Elizabeth thought she had heard a sound. Turning around, she headed back down the way they had all came, and in the side of the moat was a passage she had never seen before.

The passage was leading under the castle, and for a moment the sense of unease came over Elizabeth. Then she heard the sound again, coming from inside. For once her curiosity overcame her hesitance, and she made her way into the passage. Light streamed in from outside, and the sun was in a good position so it illuminated a fair way inside. It seemed like just a worn down stone passage.

Making her way inside, she could see some collapsed doorways. It didn't enter her mind that the ceiling might come down on her as well, but there was no movement, no noise. Except the sound, drawing her further in. It wasn't long before she couldn't see much any longer, but on her left was a single doorway that was clear of rubble. It was where the sound was coming from, but when she poked her head inside, it went quiet.

She couldn't see anything inside, as it was too far in for light to be able to bend around the corner. But then she spotted something glinting. An adult might think it would be strange that something could glint in the darkness if there was no light to reflect off of it, but Elizabeth didn't know enough to consider that. She made her way into the room towards the glinting, and somehow managed to not fall and stumble. While she couldn't see what it was, she picked up the thing. It wasn't very large, even to her small hands. Suddenly the sense that she should get out crept up on her, and she hurried back outside.

In the light of the sun she opened her hands to look at what she had found. It was a strange stone. A gem, perhaps? It was red, at least, and in a cylinder shape that didn't look natural. Elizabeth couldn't explain why, but she felt strangely safe holding it. And she liked red things, so she decided to keep it. Her friends and family would surely be impressed.

She would never find the passage again. Her friends thought she had made it up. It wasn't the first time she had told a tall tale, after all. All kids do, though Elizabeth's imagination was perhaps a little more active than most. Even though she had the stone to show for it, they didn't believe her story about the passage. She could have found the stone anywhere. The others didn't see its greatness the way she did. Which was fine, as Elizabeth didn't want anyone to try to take it from her. If they didn't want it, it was easier for her to keep it.

\---

Young Elizabeth was age 10 when the town became the target of a group of bandits. It wasn't a small village, but the town was also not big enough to have its own police station. There was a small office that had a total of three officers, only two of which were working when the bandits came. They managed to call for help, but they couldn't actually fight them off. While a larger force would arrive eventually, it still gave the bandits time to secure the town for a little while. It wasn't their first time doing a job like this, even if this was their first time in this town.

They pulled people out of their homes at gunpoint before grabbing as much stuff as they could find in a hurry from said homes. The locals were herded into the town square, and told they'd be free to go unharmed as soon as the bandits were done. They weren't able to reach every house of course, but Elizabeth and her family were among the ones that got rounded up.

Not everyone was willing to go along with this though. One of Elizabeth's neighbours, a middle-aged man she knew only as 'Uncle Peter', decided to put up a fight. Saying they wouldn't get anything from his house. They could have probably left him alone, or knocked him out, but the stubborn fool went to attack one of the bandits with a knife he kept on his belt. As soon as he pulled it out, he was shot.

It wasn't a fatal shot, but with the loud noise, the screaming from Uncle Peter, and the spray of blood that hit the ground and wall behind him, it all was quite a shock for young Elizabeth. It was such a vivid crimson. She wanted to scream and cry, and other kids had already started, but then she heard something. Someone was whispering to her. Telling her four words she had never heard before, and telling her to sing them. For some reason she felt an inherent trust towards this voice, and did as she was told.

" _Seidir Ormr Fafnir Zizzl_."

When the police arrived, the chaos had died down. No one could give them a clear story on what had happened. The bandits had been driven away. Two of them had been wounded and abandoned, and were shipped off to hospital along with Uncle Peter. There was damage on the roads and houses that didn't match anything firearms could do. All people could agree on was that they had heard singing right before everything was thrown into chaos. The wounded bandits talked of a monster. The popular rumour became that a dragon had descended upon the town.

Young Elizabeth couldn't really remember much of anything after Uncle Peter had been shot. It wasn't that long until she stopped thinking about it. As children do.

The adults who had actually seen what happened to Elizabeth agreed between themselves to keep it quiet. The knowledge about such things hadn't been made public yet, so they weren't sure what was going on. They were worried about the child, and wanted to keep an eye on her. Some thought she had been cursed, and maybe they weren't too far off. But even so they weren't cruel enough to cast a child out on her own.

No one suspected anything about the strange stone she had found. That was years ago after all, and outside of her parents no one even remembered it existed. And the parents had grown used to it.

There was talk with her family about what to do, which Elizabeth was blissfully unaware of. What had stuck in her mind was the joy of singing, and she now dreamt of becoming the top idol in the world. Or even the galaxy. The universe!

So when the family was later approached about Elizabeth attending a music academy in a different country, she was far easier to convince than her parents were. Eventually they relented, especially as they were promised it would help keep her safe.


	2. Chapter 1: A Tough Audience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally attending Lydian Music Academy, Elizabeth is already trying to make her mark on the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there hasn't really been any indication that Liz is into death metal, but I thought it would be a funny concept for her to try to pitch.

"But why?!"

"Bathory-san, we don't believe there is sufficient interest in a death metal concert at the academy," the student council president said.

Elizabeth Bathory, age 16, first-year student at the Lydian Music Academy. Self-proclaimed top idol at the school, and currently trying to convince the student council to let her use the auditorium for a concert.

"I got four people to sign on. If I ask the whole school, there's sure to be lots more!" Elizabeth didn't want to budge on this. Her fans deserved seeing her on the best possible stage.

"How about using the band room in the basement?" the treasurer helpfully suggested. While Elizabeth might not be aware, the president's patience was being stretched.

"No, only the auditorium will do," Elizabeth insisted. "Anything less would be an insult to my little piggies." She thought that much should be obvious.

"Your little...?" The vice president sounded confused, but quickly cleared her throat as a cover. "Why death metal? If you could do something else, it would be easier to find an audience." This wasn't their first time dealing with Elizabeth, even though she had only attended the academy for a few months. She was still considered somewhat of a riddle, especially as she was a foreigner.

"A top idol has to master several genres of music," Elizabeth proudly declared. "They need something for everyone." She was by no means a bad singer, but still had a habit of overestimating her abilities.

The president pinched the bridge of her nose. "So that's why you blew out two speakers while... practising, I presume?" she asked, sounding a little tired.

"That wasn't my fault, I'm not used to dealing with old equipment," Elizabeth said defensively. Everyone makes mistakes, especially pioneers like her. It certainly wasn't her fault that no one had been free to help her, so she'd had to set things up herself.

"The academy bought those two years ago," the president said with a sigh.

"Yeah, I'm only used to the very latest tech," Elizabeth said. Two years was an eternity. "Besides, I've figured out what went wrong, and it won't happen again." She never made the same mistake twice. Well, almost never. Practically unprecedented.

"Bathory-san..." the student council president stood up, and looked Elizabeth directly in the eye. "No means no. You're not getting to hold a concert in the auditorium."

"Er..." Elizabeth was starting to catch on that maybe she was pushing her luck here.

"Look, if you come up with a better proposal," the vice president said in a conciliatory voice.

"And you don't destroy anything else," the secretary added.

"And wait a couple of weeks," the treasurer interjected.

"A month," said the secretary.

"Couple of months," the treasurer corrected herself.

"Then we'll consider again whether we'll let you hold a concert," the vice president finished.

Elizabeth deep down wanted to keep arguing, but the look in the president's eyes was scaring her a little. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Okay," she said quite simply. And nearly forgot to bid them a good day before she left.

"No luck?" A brown-haired girl asked, as she was leaning against the wall opposite the door.

"They don't appreciate my talent," Elizabeth replied grumpily. Her expression softened as she looked at her friend. "You didn't have to wait for me, Kiyomi."

Kiyomi stepped away from the wall, and joined Elizabeth for the walk back to the classroom. "Someone has to make sure you don't get in trouble, Liz-chan," she said with a smile.

"What do you mean? I never cause trouble." Elizabeth felt offended at the very notion.  It might be the case that she was haunted by bad luck, and sometimes trouble might happen around her. But it wasn't her fault.

"Yeah yeah, you've never done anything bad in your whole life," Kiyomi said.

"That's right!" Elizabeth declared. That was absolutely right. Wait... "Wait, was that sarcasm?" She side-eyed Kiyomi, who flashed her a grin in response. "Ugh, you're the worst. Why do I hang out with you?" Elizabeth asked.

"Hm..." Kiyomi made a show of thinking it over. "Because you love me?" she teased.

Elizabeth blushed a little, and pointedly looked ahead. "As if," she scoffed. She didn't quite get how Kiyomi was able to just say stuff like that. It was a little hard to deal with. Especially since she was still relatively new to the language, and was a little unsure whether she properly understood the meanings of things.

Her family ended up moving just in time for Elizabeth to start middle school, a little over three years ago. To help her prepare for attending Lydian later. And before that she had really only gotten a basic course in Japanese. So school had been tough, especially to begin with. It was a very different language from Hungarian or English. And it felt like most people's English skills were about as good as her Japanese had been at the start. It had been embarrassing having to take extra classes, but it was all in pursuit of her dream.

And even though she wasn't really taller or more developed than the other girls, she was still very obviously foreign in her features. It made her stand out, which hadn't always been easy, but an idol has to get used to more attention than regular people. That's what she kept telling herself.

She would bear it. She would be a good girl. And one day she would become the top idol in the world, and beyond. Her songs would reach everyone. This she believed with all her heart. It was her destiny.

"So what now?" Kiyomi asked.

"I don't know." Elizabeth sighed. "I had been so sure I could convince them."

"Really?" Kiyomi sounded like she doubted that. "Look, even though you got some of the kind kids from the other class to sign on, surely you had to know the odds were against you." Sometimes Kiyomi could be, or perhaps had to be, rather blunt.

"A top idol has to always shoot for the stars," Elizabeth said. If she didn't always go for the best, what was even the point.

Kiyomi patted Elizabeth on the shoulder. "All I'm saying is everyone has to start somewhere, Liz-chan. Even top idols." Elizabeth wasn't sure if the kind patience in Kiyomi's voice made it better or worse.

Making friends after coming over here had definitely not been easy. Not just the language barrier, but also her personality was seen as more abrasive here. Or maybe it was simply that teenagers were less inclined to put up with her demanding ways. So while others had often approached her out of curiosity, they seemed to get driven away soon enough. Only a few had stuck around. Like Kiyomi.

She met Kiyomi already in middle school, and had been secretly relieved to learn they were both going to Lydian afterwards. At least she'd have someone. One precious friend. Whom she maybe should listen to more.

"Maybe you have a point," Elizabeth reluctantly admitted. "Hard to grow a fanbase if I don't have one to begin with." But the idea of just doing a 'normal' concert felt like a letdown. She still felt like she had to do something big, something different.

Her singing voice wasn't the best in the class, but she was still above average, even for an academy like this. With more practice she was sure she could become unparalleled.

Which had helped with her socialising as well. They might see her as slightly cocky, but at least more people were interacting with her now. That was part of why she wanted a big concert so bad. She was certain that if she could put on a good show, they would love her for sure. It felt like it was so close, yet still frustratingly out of reach. She deserved better. But maybe she had to be better first.

"See? I'm always right, aren't I?" Kiyomi said, self-satisfied.

"What, like the time you got me to climb that apple tree because 'the apples at the top are tastier'?" Elizabeth asked accusingly. One of the branches had given out, and she had fallen down. It was a miracle she hadn't broken anything.

"In my defence, it was really funny," Kiyomi said, and giggled. Maybe in hindsight, but Elizabeth remembered how Kiyomi had been wailing in panic at the time.

Still, maybe she should take the student council's advice, and take time to make a better plan. The president was clearly upset with Elizabeth, even if Liz didn't entirely understand why. So giving her a little time to cool off might not be a bad idea.

\---

At the end of the day she didn't really have any great ideas nailed down. 'An idol is supposed to make people happy' was what Kiyomi had told her. Which Elizabeth agreed with, but she had already thought her previous plan would achieve that. She still wanted to do something that felt exclusive and special. Perhaps her real challenge was to make something that seemed more normal still feel unique.

She parted ways with Kiyomi by the bus station. Kiyomi was lucky that she was in walking distance of her home. Having to take the bus every day was a chore, but her parents had already said that moving closer to the school was out of the question. 'It's only 15 minutes,' they said. It was more like 20 if traffic was bad. And even at its best it still came to half an hour when you counted both ways! A half hour Elizabeth could use to... do something. Probably.

The bus was a decent place to think though. She could try writing her own song. That would be unique by definition. It could be about... wait, what was that? Had she just seen a flash? The bus driver hit the brakes, throwing everyone forwards. Elizabeth just barely managed to brace herself, and still hit her cheek against the seat in front. She hadn't put on her seat-belt, because who actually did that on a bus.

"Everyone out, run for the nearest shelter!" The bus driver said, opening all doors. What was going on? Elizabeth got up, and then she saw it in front.

 _Noise, here?_ They were still a ways away, and didn't seem to be coming this way, but that was definitely what they were. She had never seen them in person before, but she recognised them from footage. People were hurrying out of the bus. Elizabeth looked behind the bus, wondering why the driver didn't just turn around, but she saw that the traffic behind them was too thick. People were already abandoning their cars.

Exiting the bus, Elizabeth kept looking towards the Noise. For some reason she felt more curious than afraid. What was the deal with these creatures? Where did they come from? Why did they attack people? And what-

 _Now, Elizabeth_. A voice she hadn't heard in nearly six years whispered in her ear, clear as day. Something felt warm against her chest; the stone she had turned into a necklace. Even after all this time, she somehow knew exactly what the voice meant. And she still trusted it. She didn't even need to have the words repeated to her.

" _Seidir Ormr Fafnir Zizzl_."

To anyone who could see, it was just a bright flash of light. No one had noticed the girl who stood there before. But some people saw the one who stood there afterwards.

Elizabeth could sense every millisecond of the transformation. White boots got strapped in pitch-black armour, and pink heels. Black armour surrounded her waist, with a white trim going around the bottom like a short skirt. A short tail extended from the back, and black plates got strapped to the front of her thighs. Her arms got a similar treatment, with black plates strapped on the outside of her upper and lower arms. Long white gloves went from her elbows and down, ending in pink claws wrapped around her fingers. Her top was a stark white to contrast the black armour, and pink lines ran down her sides. Earpieces latched onto the sides of her head, and spun out extrusions that looked like horns. Finally she pulled out a microphone, where the base extended so far it could double as a spear. Her long hair got coloured a deep pink that matched her heels and claws.

She looked at herself, and the strange microphone she was holding. Vague memories of this having happened before surfaced, though she couldn't recall clearly. What had she just...?

Looking forward, she saw the Noise had turned around, and were coming towards her. They must have seen, or perhaps sensed her change. They looked different now. Like... prey. Elizabeth instinctively knew that she could hurt them, and she really badly wanted to do that.

Clacking her heels and toes against the pavement to check her balance, she was satisfied with how stable she felt. And so she charged. The sharp end of her microphone easily pierced the first creature, and it crumbled into ash right before her eyes. She cracked a grin. The mic-spear might not be sharp on the sides, but a swing could still knock Noise aside, or even sweep them up. Her tail extended, and she crushed one of them between the mic and the tail, before spikes shot out to destroy it.

A cry into the mic sent out a sonic pulse that shattered the Noise who were too close to her, and stunned the ones slightly further away. Her tail could extend even further, making the stunned ones an easy target for a tail sweep. It was like this outfit came with an inherent understanding of what it could do. Or maybe it was the voice whispering it all to her subconscious.

Well, it was time to get serious. Bigger Noise were approaching behind the wave of normal-sized ones. The fronts of the armour plates on her thighs and arms opened up, revealing speakers inside. So she started to sing.

♫ _Concert of Ruin_ ♫

As her voice resonated through the microphone, sonic blasts shot out of the speakers, tearing the Noise apart. And causing some amount of collateral damage. The Noise capable of such started flinging projectiles at her, and some of those who weren't would launch themselves instead. But they were all in front of her, so shooting them down wasn't a big problem. Perhaps aware of this, the largest of them pounded the ground, sending a shockwave racing towards Elizabeth. With the sonic bursts blurring the air in front of her, and her attention fixed on the projectiles, she didn't spot the shockwave until it was too late. It struck her head on, and she was flung back.

The Noise quickly spread out to surround her while she was getting her bearings again. She could taste blood, and it made her heart beat faster. Looking up and around she could see them bearing down on her. If that was how it was going to be...

She pushed herself up on her knees, and spikes shot out of the front of her boots and knee-pads to anchor her as she stabbed her mic into the concrete. Her armour unfolded around her, creating a cone of speakers.

♫ _Cursed Broadcast_ ♫

A sonic wave amplified far beyond her regular mic cry burst out, instantly shredding the surrounding Noise, and shattering all windows that were too close.

Getting to her feet, she saw that all that remained was the largest one. And it was starting to deploy more of the smaller Noise. She wasn't going to tolerate that.

Yet again her armour started unfolding, far more than one should think possible, swiftly constructing a veritable fortress of speakers as she rose up on top of them.

"Take this!"

♫ _Báthory Erzsébet Dragon Cry_ ♫

With a high-pitched roar into the mic, every speaker reacted and resonated, creating a blast that tore the remaining Noise apart. Scattering their ashes too finely for people to even tell they were there. And wrecking anything else that was on the street, including cracking the asphalt.

Her armour folded back in as she lowered back down to the ground. The Noise were gone, and while it had felt good to vanquish them, she still didn't feel satisfied. She wanted to hurt more things. But the only things nearby were... people. She could still taste the blood in her mouth.

"No!" She fell to her knees with that shout. Not people. Never people. What was she even thinking? Why had she thought that? Grabbing onto the ear pieces of her armour, she tried to pull them off. She curled up and wished it all would go away. And it did. Her armour vanished with a flash, leaving her back in the clothes she had had before. She felt warm. Sweaty. At least everything was back to normal.

Or so she thought. As she put her hands on the ground to get up, locks of her hair fell down into sight. But it took her a moment to realise it was hers, because... "W-w-what is... w-why is it pink?!" She touched it to make sure it was hers. It felt like hers. Oh no. She'd have to wash this out when she got home. Would it wash out? Everyone would think she had dyed it. She knew the teachers didn't like that stuff. At least one of her teachers in middle school had thought her dark blonde hair was dyed because it was still lighter than what most others had, but it wasn't like proper foreign blonde.

Finally getting up, she wondered how she was even going to explain this to her parents. Coming home later than usual, with bright pink hair. They'd probably think she had become a delinquent. Then she noticed three people were standing in front of her. Armoured up similar to how she had been.

"Huh? Who are you?" Elizabeth asked. They looked kinda familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"That's what we should be asking you," the one with the blue hair said. Black cars started arriving around them. Maybe getting home and facing her parents was the least of Elizabeth's worries right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now my two main concerns with making Elizabeth a Gear user was what her activation chant would be, and how the armour would look and work.  
> I figured early on I'd go with a sonic blast theme, as Elizabeth's NP is amazing. And considering it's Fafnir, of course the armour had to be heavily black, but I also wanted to include elements of her Bloody Demoness outfit from Extella/GO. A mic-spear as her weapon was one of the first things I was certain of.
> 
> As for the chant, I tried to figure out if the ones in the show were from an actual language, or at least based on one, but from what I was able to find on google, it doesn't seem to be. Since I had decided on Fafnir as the spirit of her relic, I decided to go for an Old Norse theme to the chant.  
> I already knew "ormr" was serpent/dragon. And Fafnir is famously a cursed dragon, so I looked for the Norse word for curse. "Seid" doesn't exactly mean curse, it's more a term for casting magic, but it was often used for casting dark magic, like cursing someone. Adding -ir to make it "Seidir" is not a real thing, that was just something I added because I felt it flowed better with a two-syllable word. Or three, depending on how you want to pronounce it.  
> So in a vague sense the chant means "Cursed Dragon Fafnir", just not exactly. I'm happy with it, though.  
> As for choosing to use to use "sizzl" over "tron", that was more born of getting the feeling that "sizzl" was more for the darker armours, like Maria's Black Gungnir. Though whether that fits the lore, I don't know.


	3. Chapter 2: Joining The Unit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elizabeth was brought to Section 2, where she wasn't sure what awaited her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had planned to have another scene, but when I saw the word count, I figured that could be saved for the next chapter. So you get this a little bit earlier, instead.

Elizabeth Bathory, age 16, first-year student at Lydian Music Academy, was currently sitting in front of a desk. Not by choice, you have to understand. She had been brought to this strange... boat? She thought it was probably a boat. When it came to nautical things, Elizabeth had never paid much attention due to a distinct lack of interest. Then they had escorted her in here, and told her to sit.

Behind the desk sat a very large man in a red shirt, with equally red hair, and a goatee. He easily rivalled the biggest men from back home, and looked like he could headbutt a rock, with only the rock suffering damage. He was currently looking at a file, with his brow furrowed.

Behind Elizabeth were two people in black suits, a man and a woman. One of them had driven the car she was brought here in. She wasn't sure if she'd call them guards or what. They had been very firm about her not being allowed to leave yet, though.

She wasn't sure what to do, really. The voice hadn't said anything else since. And they had taken her phone, so she couldn't call for help. Would there even be a point to calling the police? Maybe these people were the police? She hadn't done anything wrong, though. At least they hadn't taken her stone away. One of the first things that had popped into her mind when they showed up was that they might.

Her parents! She should ask about calling her parents. They must be so worried. If these people were the police, they had to allow her that much, right?

"Um..." she started to say, but the man picked that moment to start talking himself.

"Bathory Elizabeth, age 16. First-year student at Lydian Music Academy. Originally from... Hungary?" He finally looked up at her as he asked that.

"Yes," she answered with a nod.

"Moved here three years ago, attended... I see," he read out loud, glancing back at the file. Then he put it down and folded his arms, looking at Elizabeth. His scrutinising gaze made her a little nervous, but she didn't sense any hostility from him. Mostly he just looked curious. "Well, Elizabeth-kun." Elizabeth blinked a little. She avoided using honorifics because she didn't understand them, but she had thought 'kun' was for boys. "I have many questions," the man said. Elizabeth felt like she did too. "But first and foremost: Where did you get that relic?"

"Relic?" Elizabeth blurted out in response. That word wasn't familiar to her, and she had no idea what he meant. She just looked at him dumbfounded.

"Yes, the one around your neck," the man clarified when he saw she didn't understand.

Elizabeth caught on, and protectively put her hand over the stone. "It's mine," she said defensively. If they wanted it, they'd have a fight on their hands.

"Hey now, I was only asking where you got it," he said disarmingly, spreading his arms.

Elizabeth relaxed a little. No one had believed her when she had told them before, but she might as well just say it. "At home. It called out to me," she said.

"It... called out to you?" he repeated. Seemed like she was right that he didn't believe her, but she nodded anyway. It was the truth. She hadn't understood the words, but it had definitely called for her. She was special. "I suppose the more pressing concern is why this wasn't in your file," he said next. "It doesn't even say who approved your admission to Lydian. Another legacy of yours, Ryouko-kun?" The last sentence was barely a murmur, but his voice carried well enough for her to hear it.

"Ryouko... kun?" Elizabeth asked. She was getting more and more confused.

"Ah, no matter!" Suddenly the man sounded more jovial. "Let us start over." He got up. "I'll introduce myself. I'm Kazanari Genjuurou. I'm in charge around here." He looked even bigger standing up, but the smile on his face reduced his intimidation factor. Hang on, the name Kazanari sounded familiar...

"Um... I'm Elizabeth..." Elizabeth said, then remembered he already knew that. "I'm sorry, but can I call my parents? They're probably worrying about me." Whatever this man... Genjuurou wanted, it couldn't be more important than that.

"No need to worry, we've already sent someone to inform them," Genjuurou said, and sat back down. Elizabeth worried a little about what they were going to tell her parents. "You know why we brought you here, right?" he asked, in a tone that implied he was certain she knew.

"I haven't done anything," Elizabeth said right away, as if by instinct. Depending on how you defined 'anything', that could count as true. Though of course she had some idea. She had fought the Noise, and he had asked about her stone. The 'relic'. But fighting the Noise was good, right? She had saved people. Probably.

"Now now, no need to be so suspicious, Elizabeth-kun," Genjuurou said with a hearty laugh. "You're not in trouble." To Elizabeth it sounded like there was an unspoken 'yet' at the end there. "In fact, I would rather ask you a favour."

"Favour?" Elizabeth felt confused again.

"Indeed. Symphogear-wielders are hard to come by, after all," he said, and while she knew he wasn't done, she still couldn't stop herself from repeating:

"Symphogear?" Something was tickling the back of her mind. She had heard that term. On the news? At school? Elizabeth didn't spend too much time worrying about current events, as she had more important things to think about. But something sounded familiar about this.

"The Gear you used to fight the Noise," Genjuurou patiently explained. The man seemed to be blessed with enough goodwill that he wasn't getting tired of Elizabeth (yet). So that was called Symphogear. Elizabeth felt like that made some sense. It gave her music a power unlike anything she could have imagined. "Now, about that favour," Genjuurou continued. "We would like you to join us. Help us fight the Noise, and keep the world safe."

Elizabeth just stared at him for a while. He wanted what? "Me?" she asked in clear disbelief.

"That's right! What do you say?" Genjuurou asked, and showed her his winning smile.

As she slowly got over the shock of someone actually asking her for a favour, for her help, her pride starting making itself known. Of course he would ask her. She was the top idol of the school, after all. Soon to be the whole world. And she had taken out all of those Noise alone. She was beautiful, talented, and powerful. It made complete sense that he would ask her this. And who was she to deny a fan?

"Of course! You can consider the world as good as saved!" Elizabeth boasted. This was part of making people happy too. An idol should do anything within her power. And it turned out Elizabeth's power was more than most.

"That's the spirit!" Genjuurou sounded like he approved, which made Elizabeth's ego inflate a little bit more. "With that settled, I'll take you to meet the others."

"Others?" Elizabeth asked before she thought it over. There had been those other three that had shown up after she was done, when she actually thought about it.

Genjuurou took her into a room where three other girls were waiting. Seeing them now it was clear to her they were the same ones that had been in armour.

"Let me introduce you to your fellows, Elizabeth-kun," Genjuurou declared. "Everyone, this is Bathory Elizabeth-kun. She's agreed to join us." One of the girls hopped up from her seat. "Elizabeth-kun, this is Tachibana Hibiki-kun, a first-year like yourself." Ah, Elizabeth recognised her. She had been one of the people who had signed on for her death metal concert. Brown hair, brown eyes, and currently looking very excited.

"Nice to meet you, Liz-chan!" Hibiki said with pronounced eagerness, taking Elizabeth's hand without asking or being offered. Then she got a curious look on her face, but Genjuurou moved on before she got to say anything else.

"And this is Yukine Chris-kun. She's a second-year," Genjuurou said. Even though she hadn't gotten up, Elizabeth got the impression Chris was quite short. She also had the fluffiest-looking hair Elizabeth had ever seen, and some primal urge arose to pet it. However Chris was looking at her with an amount of suspicion that made Elizabeth wonder if maybe it was best to resist that urge for now. "And finally-" Genjuurou started to introduce the last person, then it clicked with Elizabeth.

"Kazanari Tsubasa!" she said, interrupting Genjuurou. That's where she had heard that name before. Elizabeth might not be the greatest at paying attention to other people, but of course she knew the one person in school who was already a professional idol. The blue-haired girl was leaning against the wall, and didn't seem particularly startled by Elizabeth's outburst. Perhaps she was used to them. "I see this is fate," Elizabeth declared, which at least made Tsubasa give her a weird look. Elizabeth lifted a hand, and pointed at Tsubasa. "We are destined to be rivals." The new top idol versus the old top idol. This was no mere chance.

The other three were all looking at her strangely now. An awkward silence settled over the room. Even Elizabeth herself noticed.

She slowly lowered her hand. "Huh? Huh?" She looked at both Chris and Hibiki, and finally back at Genjuurou. "What did I do?" she asked, confused. She didn't think she had done anything that strange. So why were they all looking at her like she was an alien?

"Can I go now?" Tsubasa asked. "I have an interview to prepare for." Elizabeth wasn't exactly sure what her tone of voice was. Bored? Annoyed? It didn't sound positive, at least.

"Oh, yeah, of course," Genjuurou said. Maybe this hadn't quite turned out as he had hoped either. "Go ahead." Tsubasa gave off the impression that she might have left even without his permission. She only glanced briefly at Elizabeth on the way out, and it wasn't a kind look. Had Elizabeth just botched her first impression? Dammit.

"I'm leaving too," Chris said, and got up. She really was quite short. Elizabeth noticed she was wearing heels, and even so the two of them only seemed about the same height. Unlike Tsubasa, Chris was quite pointedly not looking at Elizabeth. Had she ruined that first impression too? This wasn't a promising start.

"Ehehe..." Hibiki laughed awkwardly, drawing Elizabeth's attention to her. At least she didn't seem to be leaving. "Sorry about that, Liz-chan. They can be a little difficult at first, but they're good girls once you get to know them." She smiled apologetically.

"Yeah, don't let it get to you," Genjuurou said, and slap- patted Elizabeth firmly on the back. "I leave her in your capable hands, Hibiki-kun! Show her around a bit, then help her find a ride home. Can I count on you?"

Hibiki immediately snapped to attention. "Yes, Master!" she said with absolute determination. Elizabeth was again confused. Was she also supposed to call Genjuurou 'master'? Was that how things worked around here? Maybe that was one of the things she could ask Hibiki about. She still had so many questions.

"Good, good!" Genjuurou sounded pleased. "Now then, I have a party to plan for," he said, and left the room. Leaving only Hibiki, and a hopelessly lost Elizabeth. While she had agreed to this in a moment of heightened ego, she was now not exactly sure what had just happened.

"Party?" she asked, looking helplessly at Hibiki.

"He probably means a welcome party," Hibiki answered. "They held one for me as well. At least they probably won't ask you to take your clothes off." Elizabeth had no idea how to even respond to that. "Now come on, Liz-chan. I'll show you the important places, it shouldn't take too long!" Hibiki seemed full of energy, and it wasn't like Elizabeth had any better ideas. If she was late getting home anyway, what did a little bit later matter.

Plus Hibiki looked genuinely happy about Elizabeth being here, and Liz wasn't about to take that for granted. They went to the same school and everything, so if they could be friends that would be nice.

"Okay," Elizabeth said, and followed Hibiki's lead.

"I've been wondering something though," Hibiki said as they started walking. "Have we met before? You look a little familiar, but..." She turned her head to give Elizabeth a pondering look. "Was your hair always pink?"

"Um..." Ah dammit, Elizabeth had forgotten that part! She grabbed a lock of her hair, and held it up to check. Yup, still pink. "N-no, I... erm... after I fought the Noise, it was like this."

Hibiki stopped with a look of amazement. "The Noise dyed your hair?!"

"I... don't think so," Elizabeth replied, though that possibility hadn't even occurred to her. "It's more likely it was this..." She lifted up her stone.

"Ooohhhhh!" At the very least, Hibiki didn't seem like she thought Elizabeth was lying, which was a relief. What her parents, and the school, would think was a different matter. "Maybe that's how Tsubasa-san's hair got so blue," Hibiki mused. "Maybe that'll happen to me! Oh wait, I guess my hair is already not far from orange... but what if Chris-chan's hair turns red!" Elizabeth couldn't really keep up with this, but she gathered that apparently it wasn't something that happened to everyone. So why had it happened to her?

"Um, Hibiki?" Elizabeth said, hoping she got the name right.

"Yes?" Hibiki replied, snapped out of her runaway train of thought.

"Can we go on? I think I'd like to go home soon..." Elizabeth was starting to realise how tired she felt. Her multitude of questions would have to wait until after she got some sleep.

"Oh! Of course! I need to show you the cafeteria first, at least," Hibiki promptly marched off, and Elizabeth gratefully followed.

Elizabeth had a lot to think about now. Not to mention worry about. At least she seemed to have this weird girl on her side. Would anyone else believe her? Her parents? School? Maybe most of all Elizabeth worried what Kiyomi would think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With regard to Chris's and Elizabeth's heights, I figured that since Fate/'s Liz is based on her at 14, age 16 Liz would be a little bit taller. Plus I feel like the golden rule should be that Chris is shorter than anyone else, even including her platforms. :3


	4. Chapter 3: For The Record

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still struggling with how to deal with yesterday, Elizabeth also had some issues at school today. But at least she could count on Kiyomi, though maybe she was about to tell her friend a little too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of my easy ideas for this story. I don't intend to end it yet, but I will need a little time to think about how I want to continue. (Hopefully not too long.)

Elizabeth Bathory, age 16, first-year student at Lydian Music Academy, felt tired. Yesterday had been an ordeal, and now muscles she didn't even know she had were aching. Not to mention the bruises she had gotten after getting knocked over. Someone had come to check on her this morning, and to ask if she wanted to take a day off of school. That had freaked her out a bit, but she had decided to go.

Worse, the guy had brought a folder of documents for her to read, and said that she needed to sign off on them by the end of the week. Part of her wondered if there was still time to change her mind, but she had talked herself out of that. An idol always had to complete the gig they had agreed to. Plus there was no way she was losing out to her rival. Quitting now was as good as admitting total defeat before the competition had even started.

As for her parents, they were understandably worried. They said they had been promised that Elizabeth would be safe, though they had no proof of such an agreement. While they had made an attempt at talking her out of it, they were both practical people. First of all they knew what Elizabeth was like when she set her mind on something, and secondly they were worried about her power. Maybe even afraid. Letting a child deal with that on their own was irresponsible, and it wasn't like they could teach her about it themselves. So they had reluctantly agreed to this.

Maybe that's what the person who had contacted them meant by keeping Elizabeth safe.

Her hair was a different matter. Her mother had been horrified, and at first wouldn't believe Elizabeth hadn't dyed it on purpose. " _You've always been such a good girl, Eli. How could you do this now?_ " Though when Elizabeth asked for help to try to wash it out, and that not really going well, her mother had started to believe her. Her hair was pink all the way to the roots. Her mother had even plucked some strands to check, and there was no trace of her normal hair colour. They had agreed to get some bleach, and then try to dye it back to something like her normal colour, but Elizabeth was worried it would change back to pink every time she put on the Symphogear.

Thankfully the teacher hadn't made a fuss about it. Maybe Genjuurou's people had talked to her. But everyone in class was giving her funny looks. Several hadn't even recognised her until they saw which seat she took, even though she otherwise looked just the same, and just as foreign. Even Kiyomi had done a double-take.

As soon as the first break happened, Kiyomi practically zoomed over.

"Liz-chan, what have you done to your hair?" she asked right away without so much as saying 'good morning'.

"I... look, this isn't my fault," Elizabeth said, even though she realised how weak that sounded.

Kiyomi gave her a strange look. "Someone dyed your hair against your will?" she asked, clearly confused.

"No. I mean... yes. I... how do I even explain this?" Elizabeth wasn't entirely sure herself why it had happened.

"You're not making any sense here, Liz-chan," Kiyomi informed her.

"I know. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me either," Elizabeth admitted, which wasn't helping clear up Kiyomi's confusion any. "Look, all I know is that apparently I'm a Symphogear now."

"A... Symphogear?" Kiyomi looked even more confused, until suddenly it was like a light-bulb turned on in her head. "Wait, like the ones on TV?"

"Um... yeah," Elizabeth said. She couldn't remember what they had shown on TV, but that must have been where she had heard about it too. "That's what did this to me. I think. Then they took me on a boat and everything."

"A boat...? They?" Kiyomi suddenly looked quite sceptical. "Liz-chan, are you sure you didn't just hit your head, and then dunked it in a bucket of pink paint or something?" That probably sounded like a more likely story than what Elizabeth was saying, but she wasn't sure how else to explain it. She hadn't quite made sense of it all herself yet, after all. Part of her couldn't stop wondering if yesterday had all been a dream. Yet the evidence indicated that it had been real.

"I swear I'm not making this up," Elizabeth insisted. "It's just been a lot to take in... Listen, I'll show you after school, okay?"

That satisfied Kiyomi for a little bit, but it turned into a long day ahead of them. And Kiyomi couldn't resist asking more questions, that Elizabeth was only partially able to answer. There was still so much that she didn't know or understand herself.

\---

Finally the day came to an end, and the two of them went up to the roof. It hadn't entered Elizabeth's mind even once that maybe she shouldn't be telling anyone about all of this. Though it wasn't like Kiyomi was just anyone anyway.

"Okay, now watch this," Elizabeth said, and walked to the middle of the roof. She wasn't entirely certain if the transformation had any effect on the immediate surroundings, but at the very least she didn't want to accidentally hurt Kiyomi. While the voice still remained silent, the chant still came to her easily. " _Seidir Ormr Fafnir Sizzl_."

Now that she had a slightly better understanding of what was happening, the change somehow felt even stranger. But it also felt... good. There was a rush to it, as she could feel the power filling her. Every piece of armour strapping on, and locking together. It felt right. When she became fully aware of her surroundings again, she saw Kiyomi staring at her with her mouth agape.

"See?" Elizabeth said proudly.

"Whooooaaaa, that so cool!" Kiyomi zipped closer, and started touching the armour. "Oh, it feels really strange. Where did it all even come from?"

"Um..." Elizabeth lifted an arm, and properly looked at the plates strapped to it. That was a really good question. "I don't know... I didn't really get a chance to ask that yet."

"What does it feel like? Is it heavy?" Kiyomi asked while poking at Elizabeth's pink claws.

"Huh? No..." Elizabeth hadn't really considered that it was supposed to feel heavy, but looking at it, it would have made sense if it did. Except... "It feels like part of me, really. I don't feel weighed down, it's more like... a natural extension. Like a second skin." It was a difficult concept to put into words, but she thought she had done a good job of it.

"That's really cool... and also sounds kinda gross," Kiyomi said. Okay, maybe 'second skin' hadn't been the best choice of words. "What can you do?"

"Well! When I sing into the mic, it creates strong sound waves!" Elizabeth said, proudly showing off the mic-spear. "It's kinda dangerous to demonstrate though..." she added, remembering how the street had looked afterwards yesterday. But maybe she could just focus on... aha, she got one of the plates on her arm to open up. "See, it has like speakers inside."

"Whoooaaaa," Kiyomi grabbed Elizabeth's arm to get a closer look. "You wouldn't even need a backstage crew to go on tour." She sounded genuinely amazed.

Elizabeth wasn't as sure of that, since she had no idea if it was possible to control these things so finely that they could be used for a concert without blowing the audience away. But it was helping her mood immensely that Kiyomi seemed so impressed by all of this. She gazed out towards the school gate, and saw everyone leaving. _It would be so easy_. Wait, no, where had that thought come from? No no no, whatever that was, she wasn't listening to it.

"Liz-chan? You okay?" Kiyomi suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Elizabeth snapped out of it.

"You made a strange face... is it a strain to have this on?" Kiyomi sounded worried now.

Shit, what could she even say? "N-no, I just thought of something unpleasant," Elizabeth replied.

Whatever Kiyomi was going to say next was interrupted by something... someone leaping onto the roof.

"Bathory!" It was Tsubasa calling out, all Geared up herself. As she landed, she quickly scanned the roof. "What is going on? Are you under attack?"

"Huh? What? Why are you here?" Elizabeth said, very confused as to what was going on.

"Command sent me a call that they had detected your aufwachen signal," Tsubasa said quickly, though that was another word Elizabeth hadn't heard before. "And you don't have a communicator yet. Why did you activate your Gear?" Tsubasa was still clearly on guard against any and all threats.

"Huh? I was just showing my friend what it looked like," Elizabeth said. She was too startled to think about coming up with some lie.

"You were just..." Tsubasa was in utter disbelief. She relaxed her pose, but she was now looking very annoyed. Chris also came leaping onto the roof as Tsubasa went on. "You're not supposed to show anyone. It's not a toy!" She seemed less than pleased.

Elizabeth immediately got defensive, even instinctively stepping in front of Kiyomi. "It's mine. I can do what I want, can't I?" she said. It was less of a question, and more of a statement.

"No, you can't," Tsubasa said firmly. "When you activate your Gear, it broadcasts a very loud signal to those listening for it. It's only to be used when needed, and definitely not for... showing off." The disapproval in Tsubasa's voice was rattling Elizabeth's chain.

"What do you care?" Elizabeth shot back. Not exactly her best retort, but Tsubasa was ticking her off.

"I care because what if you draw some unwanted attention? What if you draw the Noise here?" Tsubasa practically hissed. "Are you willing to risk the school, and your friend, just to play around?"

Elizabeth felt like she didn't have to take this. "I didn't know! Stop being such a jerk!" She was getting rather angry herself.

Hibiki finally arrived as well. She looked at the situation, then at Chris, but neither of them seemed to have any idea what to do.

"I would have thought you'd have enough common sense to not do this in first place," Tsubasa said coldly.

That was it. "For an idol you're surprisingly tactless," Elizabeth said, matching Tsubasa's glare. "I'm sure you've never made a mistake in your life, but us regular people actually have to learn."

Tsubasa gritted her teeth. "Then maybe I should teach you some sense by knocking it into you," she growled, and readied her sword.

Elizabeth raised her mic-spear. "Bring it on, rival."

But before either of them could make the first move, Hibiki flew between them. "Symphogear-wielders shouldn't fight!" she yelled at the both of them, holding her arms out as if to block them.

"Out of the way, Tachibana," Tsubasa said sharply, but Hibiki didn't show any sign of budging.

Chris stepped up beside Tsubasa, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't. You'll just wreck the school," she said.

Elizabeth could feel someone tugging on her arm, and she turned her head to see Kiyomi. "Liz-chan, please..." her friend said, and the worry in her eyes made Elizabeth back down.

"I'm sorry, Kiyomi," she mumbled, feeling ashamed now. She had gotten carried away, but Tsubasa had been so antagonising she hadn't been able to avoid it.

Tsubasa lowered her sword too. "You're right," she said to Chris, though she didn't sound happy about it. She also wasn't done. "Hey, Bathory. How about a sparring match? We'll settle this in the training room." She sounded like she was already sure of the outcome.

While part of her brain was trying to tell her this was a bad idea, Elizabeth wanted to show her rival what she was made of. "You're on," she replied.

\---

An hour later they were both in the training room in their Gear.

Kiyomi hadn't been allowed to come, which Elizabeth supposed was only natural. Her friend hadn't really looked any less worried when they left, even though Elizabeth had assured her that she would win.

Hibiki had tried really hard to talk them out of it, but hadn't gotten anywhere. So now the two of them were facing off in here, with no one else in the room. The others were in the observation room, as Tsubasa had insisted it was far too dangerous to have anyone else in there with them.

"I'm not going to go easy on you," Tsubasa warned as she went into her ready stance.

"Neither am I," Elizabeth said. While she hadn't seen Tsubasa fight yet, she figured that if she just trusted her Gear, she'd pull this off. That's how the fight with the Noise had gone, after all.

As soon as Elizabeth went into her own ready stance, Tsubasa charged. She was really fast, and Elizabeth just barely managed to raise her spear in time to block the blow. The force behind it felt like it rattled every bone in her body. Already she realised that this was nothing like fighting the Noise. Tsubasa's speed and strength were in no way comparable.

But Elizabeth was pretty strong herself. Swinging to the side, she managed to knock Tsubasa away enough to leap back, but her rival was back on top of her right away. If this just turned into a close-encounter battle, Elizabeth was at a disadvantage.

She needed to create some distance, and used a mic-cry to attempt to disorient or stun Tsubasa enough to get away. It worked, though maybe just because Tsubasa wasn't expecting it.

Getting a little bit away, Elizabeth opened her plates to reveal the speakers inside. She had seen what they did to the Noise, but all she needed to do was knock Tsubasa down. With that armour she could probably handle a few blows.

♫ _Concert of Ruin_ ♫

Tsubasa had already recovered though, and seemed to have no problem dodging the sonic blasts coming her way. Elizabeth tried to compensate her aim, but when her opponent wouldn't stay in front of her, she wasn't fully able to turn quickly enough to keep up. Before she knew it, Tsubasa was right beside her again, and struck out with the hilt of her blade. Elizabeth wasn't able to block in time, and got sent flying.

"You may have power, but if you can't move, you're basically useless in combat," Tsubasa chided her harshly.

Elizabeth was struggling to get back on her feet. That had really hurt, and she also felt dazed. Tsubasa hadn't even struck with the blade. Had she known right away that Elizabeth wouldn't manage to block?

While she was still trying to clear her head, Tsubasa came at her again. This time Elizabeth was able to block, but again the sheer force of it made every ache she was feeling hurt a lot more. Tsubasa lashed out with a kick, and again Elizabeth went flying.

"Without situational awareness and fast reflexes, you'll be easy prey for the enemy," was the next thing Tsubasa said.

If that was how it was going to be, Elizabeth would show that she could also be fast. She had always been active, and wasn't entirely ignorant on how to move quickly. First off she had to catch Tsubasa off guard, so she pretended she was still recovering, before drawing a quick breath. Ignoring the pain, she rolled to the side, got her boots on the floor, and leaped sideways. Then once her boots landed again, she launched herself at Tsubasa's flank.

Tsubasa didn't even move until Elizabeth was nearly on her, then she seemingly effortlessly struck the side of Elizabeth's spear to deflect the blow, and stepped to the side. Sending Elizabeth crashing face-first into the floor.

"If you can't even read your opponent, how can you hope to so much as land a single blow?" Tsubasa said. "Now stay down, and think about what you've learned, if you know what's good for you." Her tone of voice certainly made it sound like _she_ felt she was done with this.

Elizabeth could taste blood now, and her heart-rate was rising. No way was she going to give up this easily. She could still take her rival down, and pulled her legs up under her in preparation. "Rrrraaaahhhh!" she cried out, raised her arms, and stabbed the mic-spear into the ground. Her armour rapidly unfolded around her.

♫ _Cursed Broadcast_ ♫

"Oh no, you don't."

蒼ノ _Azure Flash_ 一閃

Before Elizabeth was able to finish the attack, a blinding flash cut through her cone, just barely missing her body. The next thing she saw was Tsubasa bringing her blade down, and then everything went black.

\---

And then the next thing Elizabeth was aware of, was looking up at a white ceiling. She tried to move, but that made her body cry out in protest.

"Ow ow ow ow ooowwww," she echoed what she felt inside.

"Liz-chan?" A familiar voice spoke to her, and she was able to turn her head enough to see a mop of messy brown hair.

"Hi... Hibiki?" Elizabeth's vision was a little blurry. "W-what... oowww." Talking made her realise how much her head hurt as well.

"You fought Tsubasa, and she knocked you out with the back of her blade," Hibiki said. "I told you not to fight..." While she sounded disapproving, she also sounded... sad.

"Oh..." Elizabeth sort of remembered that now. She didn't remember it hurting as much as she was right now though. Everything ached and felt bruised.

"Master gave her a talking to for going too far, but... please don't do that again, Liz-chan." Hibiki's plea was so earnest that Elizabeth felt bad about the worry she had caused. Was Kiyomi feeling similarly? She probably would be once she saw the state Elizabeth was in.

"I... I'm sorry," Elizabeth said weakly. She had gotten so hot-headed and cocky.

"We need to all be friends, and look out for each other," Hibiki continued. "I know Tsubasa-san can be harsh, but I think that's just her way of looking out for us..." It sounded like Hibiki was speaking from experience.

"Mm..." At the very least Elizabeth was willing to accept that she should probably find a different way to express her rivalry than physical conflict. The gulf between her and Tsubasa was too great, at least for now. What was it Kiyomi had said? Everyone has to start somewhere, even top idols. So maybe Elizabeth wasn't ready to challenge Tsubasa yet, and maybe she should do it in a different way.

"You should probably get some more rest," Hibiki said. That definitely sounded like a good idea, as Elizabeth's eyes were very heavy.

 _Stay down, and think about what you've learned_. Those words stuck with her as she drifted off. She had a lot to learn, and a lot to think about. Though it would have to wait for later.


End file.
